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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. club — for golf
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cap — of ice
  8. club — a group
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bore — to tire
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fall — the season
  17. ground — the earth
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bore — to drill
  20. ground — a position
  21. cap — a hat
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — for sculpting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com